


workin' on a mystery, goin' wherever it leads

by glazedsun



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band), The Voice (Ireland) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 10:30:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4016362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glazedsun/pseuds/glazedsun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam knows better than to pick up hitchhikers. But Louis isn't just any hitchhiker, and Liam is drawn to him in a way he can't understand. Louis is running from getting too comfortable with Nick, instead drifting along until he can't anymore. Liam helps Louis when he's desperate, and Louis talks him into an adventure before Liam starts his new job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	workin' on a mystery, goin' wherever it leads

**Author's Note:**

  * For [harleen_quinn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/harleen_quinn/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this, harleen_quinn!! I had a tough time deciding between your prompts because they were all so good, but I got an idea for this one that wouldn't go away and ran with it. It's probably not at all what you expected, but I do hope you like it anyway. 
> 
> Title is from Tom Petty's "Running Down a Dream". 
> 
> I didn't want to tag them, but there are very minor mentions of Nick/Harry and Niall/Bressie.
> 
> Thanks to my beta, C, for the run through. Any mistakes are my own. I don't own anyone in this story, etc etc.

It was supposed to be a quick stop. Get in, get a snack and use the rest room, and then get back on the road. Sure, Liam didn’t really have a schedule. He did have an apartment waiting for him, a new opportunity to start fresh in Chicago. Despite the fact that the apartment wouldn’t be ready until after the weekend, meaning Liam didn’t have to rush, he still wanted to get to the area and get settled. It was a long way from his family’s home in the backwoods of Maine, but he couldn’t wait to get started.

He got thrown off, however, as soon as he actually parked at the service plaza. He pulled into a spot next to a beat up car that looked like it had to be from at least the mid-90s, if not the 80s. How was it still running? It looked like the bottom was starting to rust, and there was a string tied around the handle on the passenger door as if it was the only way to get inside. Liam got out of his car just as he saw a beautiful young man walking towards the relic. He couldn’t help but take his time, watching the young man get into the car and try to start it. Okay, maybe he was wrong about it running. The young man tried to turn the engine over once, twice, three times. Nothing. The young man slammed his hands down on the dashboard and let out a string of some of the most creative cursing that Liam had ever heard. 

The boy with the sparkling eyes suddenly, for a brief moment, looked so sad and defeated that Liam had to help. It was how his parents raised him and what the Scouts taught him: always pay it forward and help others in need. He stood up from where he had been pretending to look through one of the boxes in the back of his car and walked to the driver’s side of the broken down car. 

“Need a hand?” he offered, with his warmest smile. To his surprise, Liam received a snarky no in response. The boy then stubbornly turned his attention back to trying to get the car started again. “You’re going to flood the engine,” Liam tried pointing out, only getting an eye roll in response. Liam shrugged and locked his car, walking into the plaza. Might as well get on his way, then. 

*

Louis took a deep breath once the young man walked away. It wasn’t fair. He’d made it so far on his own. Bertha had gotten all the way there from New York City, only to break down in Ashtabula, Ohio. What the fuck kind of name was _Ashtabula_? As if that wasn’t bad enough, a damn boy scout driving a car that probably cost more than Louis had made in the past three years tried to offer him help. Louis didn’t need help. He never needed help. He’d been on his own since he was just 16, when he had first flown out to the States from Doncaster. 

He had worked countless jobs for a year until he was finally able to afford Bertha, a beat up old Chrysler that had cost him $800 and already had 70,000 miles. She wasn’t much, but she was his. The only thing he properly owned. They’d survived two winters in Boston, one hurricane season in Raleigh, six months of pure hell in Philadelphia, a year in Providence, another Boston winter, and then a year and a half navigating the insanity of New York City. He’d decided he’d had enough of the East Coast and driving up and down I-95, and it was time to go west on the I-90. All that time, all those memories, and where did Bertha finally die? In Bumblefuck. Ashtabula, Ohio. Really?

Louis was utterly fucked if he couldn’t get the car working again. Bertha was more than just his car; in some of the stops along the Coast, she had also been his home. Most of the time, he was able to find a flat to either rent for really cheap or squat in, or maybe a coworker to stay with if he was lucky enough to keep a job for more than a week, but sometimes he just slept in Bertha. And that had been okay. It hadn’t been ideal, but it had been okay. If he didn’t have her, what was he supposed to do? He looked down at his cracked cell phone. He could barely afford to keep the thing, but he knew that he needed it. There were a few months that he wasn’t able to continue with his “pay as you go” plan, but as soon as he was able he’d turn it back on. He never knew if that day would be the day he’d actually hear from his sisters. Louis picked up the phone, looking at his contacts. There was really only one person that Louis could even call in the States, and he made a face at that. Nick was the last person that he wanted to ask for help.

He didn’t want to ask anyone for help. That wasn’t how Louis Tomlinson did things. But when he looked up, he saw the boy scout walking back out of the plaza, bags full of snacks and McDonald’s in his hands. Louis’ stomach grumbled a bit. Fuck, he really didn’t want to ask for help… but maybe this time he wasn’t too proud to admit it. It was either ask for help, or sit in that parking lot in Ass-tabula for the rest of his life. He just hoped that the boy scout was going somewhere interesting.

*

Liam was ready to just get in his car and on his way, barely sparing the boy in the car another glance. He didn’t do well with stubborn and rude people. He set the bags on top of his car as he went to dig his keys out of his pocket to unlock the doors. Just as he was about to pull open his door, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Liam jumped, thankful the bags of food were still sitting on the car or they would have spilled everywhere. Liam turned around, surprised to see the boy there with a sheepish expression on his face.

“Hey, um,” the boy started, clearly uncomfortable with the situation, “any chance that offer of help is still there?”

“Of course,” Liam nodded, reaching up to grab the bags of snacks and food and throw them onto the driver’s seat. He caught the longing look the stranger gave the bag of McDonald’s and considered his options. “After lunch,” he decides, grabbing the bag of food. 

“Alright,” the boy says stiffly, turning to go back to his car.

“Wait,” Liam said, blushing a bit. He hadn’t been able to finish what he’d been saying before the boy turned around. “I meant both of us.” He reached into the bag and pulled out one of the two Big Macs that he had in there. He didn’t know what had implored him to buy two, when he usually just went with one. But he was suddenly glad that he did. He offered the boy the sandwich, watching a few emotions flick across the boy’s face. Every emotion went by too quick for Liam to put a name to it; the boy was definitely well versed in guarding those emotions.

“Cheers,” the boy said, taking the sandwich after a moment’s hesitation. “I’m Louis,” he added, giving Liam a big smile.

“Liam,” he responded, smiling back. Liam climbed up on the hood of his car, motioning for Louis to sit next to him. They sat and ate in silence, sharing the pile of fries between them. Liam watched out of the corner of his eye as Louis devoured the Big Mac in just a few bites. Liam hadn’t seen anyone eat that fast; he couldn’t help but wonder just how hungry the other boy was. “Alright, let’s do this!” Liam said once they polished off the fries. He jumped down from his car, tossing the garbage into his car. He’d deal with it later.

*

Louis wasn’t really sure what to feel when the strange boy said that he wanted to eat before they tried to do anything with the car. It wasn’t as if he blamed the boy. Cold McDonald’s was possibly one of the worst things anyone could possibly eat. And he’d spent a week in Philadelphia living off scraps from a Chinese restaurant. It wasn’t as if the boy was rubbing in the fact that he had this food, how could he possibly know that Louis hadn’t had a proper meal in two days while he lived off of pretzels and water? He couldn’t. But Louis was starving, and it didn’t settle right with him. 

He was very surprised when the boy offered him one of the Big Macs. He’d just met the kid, and already he was being offered food? Louis got angry, first. He didn’t need to be a charity case, he didn’t need to be pitied. He HAD money saved, but he needed it for gas along the way and to keep his phone turned on. Once the anger faded and he realized the boy was genuinely being nice, Louis was just confused and grateful and, well, happy. He took the burger and climbed up on the car next to Liam, settling in and eating.

It was a bit weird, sitting there in silence with someone. Even though Louis didn’t really have many long term friends out of his drifting years, he’d never had a problem talking with people and having genuine conversation with someone. Sometimes, it was in an overly forceful way, trying to seem like everything was okay when it was really falling apart. But at that moment, it didn’t feel necessary, and it was odd. But nice. Still, he was grateful when they finished up and were talking again.

“Alright,” Louis said, jumping down. “I don’t know what can be done, but….” he trailed off with a shrug. 

“Well,” Liam said, “why don’t you pop the hood and I’ll take a look?”

Louis fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of COURSE the boy scout also was probably some kind of expert mechanic. Who wore the big utility boots and greasy flannels over a dirty, sweaty, tank… oh, where did THAT mental image come from? He tried to push it away quickly, but then Liam bent over his car and… well. Louis closed his eyes, calming himself down. That was the last thing he needed right then. Sure, the kid was fit, but this had to be some… knight in shining armor shit. He wasn’t actually into the kid. 

When he opened his eyes, Liam was staring at him expectantly, a smug little smirk on his face. Wanker. “Well?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Well, it looks like the radiators are busted and…” Liam trailed off, making Louis squint his eyebrows in confusion only to burst out in laughter.

“You have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about, do you?” He asked with a laugh, answered only with a sheepish head shake. Well, that helps the brief fantasy he’d had. “Tell me, Doctor Engine, is she salvageable? Should we try jumping her little old heart?”

Liam rolled his eyes and looked back down into the car. “How old is this piece of junk?”

“Hey!” Louis yelled, frowning. He reached up to pet Bertha, cooing to her. “It’s okay, baby. He didn’t mean it, you’re beautiful and mature.”

“Really?” Liam snorted, rolling his eyes once again. “I guess we can give it a jump. See what happens. Can’t guarantee it’ll start again next time you stop, though.”

Louis sighed, drumming his fingers on the car. “Let’s give it a go,” he finally decided. If it worked, great; if not, well, then he’d have to figure it out. Liam nodded, popping the hood of his own car. They got the cables set up, and tried to start the car. Nothing. They tried a few more times, until Bertha started to smoke. Louis immediately stopped, jumping up and running around to the front of the car. He waved at the smoke, trying to get it to dissipate enough that he could pull the jumper cables off. “Guess she’s had her run,” he murmured sadly, staring down at the smoking shell of his lady Bertha.

He slammed the hood of the car down, climbing up to sit on it and putting his hands in his hair, resting his elbows on his knees. Louis had been through so much with this car. Of course, he knew it was just a material object. It wasn’t like he thought of Bertha as a person or any weird thing like that, but in a way she was the only family that Louis had. Without Bertha, all Louis had left was a backpack, a duffel bag, and his phone. With her, he had a way to get around and a home. Sure, he’d made do without her before, at an even younger age, but this time he was stranded in the middle of nowhere instead of a big city with endless opportunities. What was he supposed to do?

*

Liam didn’t get out of the car to take off the jumper cables right away when they realized it wasn’t going to work. Instead, he watched Louis sit on the hood of his car. The boy looked like he was trying desperately not to cry, and Liam couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his head. If it had happened to Liam… sure, he would be upset, but he’d call Triple A and see what they could do, or call for a rental until he got to his destination and could sort it out with his parents. Did Louis have nobody he could reach out to? He thought back to the way Louis had looked at the McDonald’s bag.

He was torn. He knew better than to pick up hitchhikers, he really did. But on the other hand, Louis definitely seemed to need help. Liam was always the type of person to help when he could. His mom always teased Liam that he collected stray animals, feeding any animal that happened to wander onto their two acres of land on the outskirts of a forest. It seemed like he was continuing to pick up strays.

His decision made, Liam got out of the car and pushed down the hood. He turned around to face Louis, who was still in the same position on his car. “Hey,” Liam said a little awkwardly, suddenly unsure of himself. 

“Hey,” Louis looked up, rubbing at his eyes. It was so quick that Liam just barely caught the glimpse of tears threatening to spill out. “Sorry to waste your time.” He shrugged a little, like he was dismissing Liam. 

“Don’t worry about it, not in a rush,” Liam waved it out. “Where were you heading?”

Louis blinked, clearly confused, then he shrugged again. “Anywhere. Just driving until I found someplace to stop. Guess this is it.” He swept his arms around.

“Well, I’m on the move to Chicago. I’ve got some room in the car if you want to tag along?” There, it was out there. Liam made the offer, it was now up to Louis to decide whether or not he was going to take it.

*

Louis blinked a few times, trying to process what was going on. A few minutes ago, he’d had nothing. Now all of a sudden this stranger was offering to take him in. He didn’t know how to feel. Whenever anyone offered him shelter along the way, he’d always felt a bit guilty. Except with Nick… Nick had been different. But Nick was New York City. Nick was flashy lights; Nick was gogogo; Nick was an enigma Louis had never really been able to wrap his mind around. Liam was Ashtabula, the Midwest. Liam was warm; Liam was safe. He was another new start.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” he finally said, raising an eyebrow at Liam.

“Course not!” Liam replied, grinning brightly. “I’ll go inside and sort things out about getting your car towed.”

“You don’t-“ Louis started, but Liam waved him off and continued with his thought.

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll give you a few minutes to get your stuff together, say your goodbyes.” Liam made a bit of a face at that, not quite understanding the attachment Louis had to his car but indulging him nonetheless. Louis was so, so grateful for that. He couldn’t even really find the words, so he was thankful when Liam got the hint and started to head back into the service plaza. Louis took a deep breath, trying to get his bearings back about him. This was really it. He gathered his bags together, looking in the glove compartment and under the seats to make sure there was nothing there he wanted to keep. When one lives out of a car, things tend to wind up everywhere. He finally found everything he wanted, and set his bags down by Liam’s car. He walked back over to Bertha with a sigh, running his hand along the frame of the car. 

“We had a good run, Berth,” he murmured, patting the car again. “I don’t think I’d be alive today if it wasn’t for you.” He swallowed, suddenly struck by how true those words actually were. If it wasn’t for the shelter that the car provided him, he didn’t think he would have survived the more bitter winters and stormy summers. He grabbed his phone from his pocket, feeling even more nostalgic than he had a few moments ago. He stepped back, managing to snap a picture of the car.

 _“the old lady finally kicked the bucket ! :(”_ he texted Nick, attaching the picture to the text. It had been almost a week since they had spoken, but he felt the need to tell someone, and Nick was the most obvious choice. The only choice, really.

 _“surprised she lasted this long!! where’d you wind up this time?”_ was the response. Louis was actually surprised at how quickly it came.

_“fuckin ohio, mate. of all places !! found a boy scout to help me out, though ;)”_

_“of course you did. you’re a resourceful little rat. be careful!”_ The last text was followed up by the banana and eggplant emojis, and Louis just rolled his eyes and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He looked up when Liam walked back over to him, straightening up. As worried as Louis was, and as sad as he was over losing Bertha, he was also that excited to see where this next chapter took him. 

*

It took only about half an hour for Liam to wonder if he’d made the right decision. It was fine at first. They’d made room for Louis to pack his few things in the car, and drove off making casual small talk. The further into Ohio they got, though, the more fidgety that Louis became. Liam could tell that Louis was not only used to being the one driving, but also being alone. “Enough,” he finally snapped, reaching out to grab Louis’ wrist when Louis opened and closed the glove compartment for the tenth time. To Liam’s surprise, Louis instantly stilled, looking over at Liam in surprise. Louis sat back, chewing on his lip. “Come on, there must be something we can do so you stop fidgeting so much.”

“Oh I can think of a few things,” Louis purred, giving Liam an exaggerated wink. 

Even though Louis was (definitely? maybe? probably?) joking, Liam was still a bit taken aback. “I’m sure you can,” Liam rolled his eyes, huffing out a laugh and blushing when he realized that he was still holding Louis’ wrist. He dropped it, bringing his hand back to the steering wheel. “Pervert. I meant like. Conversation.”

“No way,” Louis deadpanned, rolling his eyes but then taking the heat away by laughing a bit. “What do you want to do, play some game?”

“Why not,” Liam shrugged. Sure, maybe it seemed a little silly or childish. Liam was awkward when trying to hold a regular conversation, though, so he always found it easiest when he played some kind of game to get to know someone. 

Louis hesitated, pulling his phone out and looking at it as if hoping it would give him some distraction. When that failed, he shrugged and turned back to Liam. “Alright, fine. But if we’re doing this, we have to make it interesting.”

“How?” Liam asked, glancing over at Louis with a raised eyebrow before turning his attention back on the road ahead of him. God, he couldn’t blame Louis for being so fidgety. There was so much nothing to look at, and so far still to go before they even reached the border of Indiana.

Louis opened the glove compartment again, causing Liam to roll his eyes. He actually seemed to be looking for something, though, so Liam fought the urge to reach out and grab his wrist again. A few seconds later, Louis emerged with a pen and some paper. “Okay. We take turns asking questions, but we both have to answer that question. Anytime someone doesn’t want to answer that question, they get marked down. Whoever has more strikes against has to buy dinner.”

“Well that just seems silly, why would I ask a question I didn’t feel comfortable asking?”

“Because, Leeyum, you might have a question that you desperately want me to answer!” Louis winked, making Liam shaking his head. “Okay, question rules. Nothing is off limits. No dumb questions, though. None of that what’s your favorite color bullshit.”

They began to play the game that Louis invented, slowly learning about each other. Liam learned that Louis was 23, originally from Doncaster, England, and had come to the States when he was 16 after his stepfather disowned him for being gay. He’d been traveling the East Coast before heading west. Meanwhile, Liam shared that he was from Greenville, Maine, a tiny town off Moosehead Lake. He explained how his parents owned a bed and breakfast that was fairly popular with tourists, and when he claimed that one of the rooms was haunted, Louis went on a tangent and asked questions about Stephen King for fifteen minutes. Even though Liam went on his own tangent, trying to explain that there was more to Maine than Stephen King, he still indulged the young man and was pleased to get to talk about his home so much in any circumstance. 

It was weird, Liam thought, just how easy conversation with Louis suddenly started flowing once they began asking so many questions. Even though the town that he lived in was small, Liam never really had a lot of good friends. As a child, Liam had been a bit heavier and very awkward, so he got bullied. He’d taken up boxing and hockey, and eventually people started to leave him alone. He was often left out; not one of his 80 classmates even came to his 16th birthday party. Despite all of that, with Louis it was different. Louis didn’t give a shit about any of that, he just listened and asked and mocked. 

*

The hours stretched on as they talked. Their questions began to get more personal, and Louis learned about Danielle, the girl that Liam had thought he was going to marry. He’d even picked out a ring, Liam told Louis, a simple one that he’d been in the process of working extra hours around the bed and breakfast in hopes of affording. She wound up leaving to study dance in New York City, leaving Liam behind and broken-hearted. When Liam asked him about his past relationships, Louis balked a little. The closest thing he’d ever had to a relationship was the arrangement that he shared with Nick. He didn’t really want to go into the details of that. 

Luckily, Louis was saved when they passed a sign for a Cracker Barrel at the next exit. “Let’s go!” he said, pointing at the sign. In all the years Louis spent on the road, he’d never actually been to Cracker Barrel. It seemed like some kind of… American road trip rite of passage. He looked down at the count he’d made, one dick drawing per skipped question, and grinned when he realized that Liam owed him dinner. Perfect.

It felt good to stretch his legs when they got out of the car ten minutes later. Even though they had only been in the car for about two hours, Louis was starting to cramp up a bit. He stretched next to the car, rolling his eyes as he watched Liam take a few selfies with the restaurant in the back. He was one of THOSE people, huh? Louis let out a huff of laughter, heading into the restaurant and just expecting Liam to follow behind them.

Dinner wasn’t bad. Cracker Barrel had an old, rustic, cabin type of feel to it. Louis was not surprised at all when Liam decided to go with the meatloaf, and he mocked Liam for it the whole time they ate, making faces at the cube of what looked like cat food. Gross. For all he teased, Liam teased him right back for ordering the fried haddock. They played with the game that was on the table while they waited for their food, laughing at nothing. Their laughter continued as they ate, and then as they went and meandered through the attached country store. They each picked out some of the old-fashioned candy that was there, Louis’ treat this time. One of the things that Louis picked out was some Horehound candy because he really was a 10 year old boy who couldn’t stop giggling at the name. 

Once they were satisfied, and their bladders were emptied, they got back on the road. They drove for another twenty minutes, passing Toledo. Along the way, Louis started seeing signs for the exits for Detroit and Ann Arbor. “Let’s go there,” he said, pointing to the sign in front of them saying the exit was in two miles.

“Michigan?” Liam raised an eyebrow. “Why would we go there?”

“Why not?” Louis asked, a mischievous glint in his eye. He wanted to see if he could take this boy scout out of his structured plan, bring a little bit of adventure into this road trip.

*

Liam knew he only had a little bit to decide what to do before they reached the exit. On the one hand, he had his future just waiting for him in Chicago. On the other hand, the adventure that Louis was promising was so tempting. His apartment wouldn’t be ready for another few days, and his job didn’t start for another week. He shouldn’t go off with this stranger, shouldn’t go off spending all that money. But it was so, so tempting. He should take advantage of this chance and get in an adventure before starting to try and make a career. 

Instead of saying what decision he made, Liam just took the next exit. Louis let out a whoop, dancing in his seat. Liam laughed and shook his head, watching out of the corner of his eye as Louis grabbed the GPS and went about programming it for their new plan. “Why there?” Liam asked again, curious. 

Louis shrugged. “My mate Nick’s got a friend who went to school up there. Wouldn’t stop talking about it when I met him.”

“’ve heard it’s a good school,” Liam nodded. They lapsed into silence for a bit, Louis fiddling with Liam’s iPod until he found something he wanted to listen to. Liam had been afraid any silence between them would turn awkward, but so far it just seemed to be comfortable as they focused on the music. 

Some ten minutes later, the random order decided to switch to the Backstreet Boys. Immediately, Louis and Liam both looked at each other before bursting out into song, singing as loudly as they possibly could. Louis even managed to try and do some of the dance in his seat, wiggling around and doing the arm movements. When it was over, they both dissolved into laughter. 

Liam couldn’t help the big smile on his face as they launched into a discussion of all the boybands they knew. He couldn’t remember ever having so much fun with someone. Back home, the closest thing he had to a best friend was Andy. Their parents were the best of friends, so the two of them had grown up together. They ran around and played sometimes, and sat and watched movies, but as they got older, they began to grow apart. That is, until a year ago. Liam was one of Greenville’s volunteer firefighters during his spare time. Usually, it was fairly uneventful apart from saving the occasional cat or dealing with small fires. However, one night a year ago, they were called in to Andy’s apartment. The whole place was ablaze, and it was Liam who dragged the other man out of the fire just in time to save his life. Andy was pretty severely burned, and still had some scarring, but it had been monumental enough for them to reconnect and try and reform the friendship they’d had when they were 5. It was a work in process, and while he had fun with Andy, it was nothing compared to the ease of the fun he was having with Louis. And they hadn’t even gotten out of the car for longer than dinner yet.

*

They continued on the road for another twenty minutes or so, engaged in light conversation, until Liam announced that he needed to stop to fill up the car and use the facilities. There weren’t any service plazas around, the quick in and out they’d found in Ohio, but there was a station not far off the exit that they’d decided to take. Louis offered to fill up the car while Liam went into the station, and Liam didn’t argue. Once he swiped his card and started pumping the gas, Louis reached for his phone and dialed up Nick.

“Lewis!” greeted the familiar voice, causing Louis to roll his eyes. Why was he friends with this man, again?

“Nikita,” Louis replied, unable to help laughing at the indignant huff the other man let out.

“Did your boy scout leave you? Do you need me to rescue you, princess? Aw, did little Lewis miss me?”

“Never in your wildest dreams,” Louis said happily. He’d tried once to understand the friendship between him and Nick, and it had just hurt his head. Instead, he just let it happen. “Hey, does your mate Greg still live up in Ann Arbor?” Even though Louis had initially told Liam that he decided on a side trip up to Ann Arbor because he had a friend who lived up there, Louis wasn’t even sure that Greg still did.

Nick cackled before responding. “I knew you had a thing for him!”

“Oh my God, shut up,” Louis whined, “I did not!” He ran a hand through his hair, making a face and replacing the nozzle into the gas pump. He leaned against Liam’s car, watching through the windows of the gas station to try and see if he could spot the other man.

“Whatever you say, princess. Pretty sure he wanted that pert little ass of yours, but who doesn’t?” Louis just rolled his eyes, not bothering to dignify that with a response. “Yeah, he’s up there. Runs one of the radio stations in the area, good lad. That where you’re heading next?”

Louis scratched at the stubble on his chin, making a face. He needed to shave soon. “Yeah, reckon so. Liam’s endgame Chicago, but I’m just….” Louis trailed off with a shrug.

“Drifting,” Nick supplied, the mocking undertones suddenly gone from his voice. “Someday you’ve gotta settle down, kiddo.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Louis snorted, rolling his eyes. He didn’t call Nick to get a lecture, and was just about to hang up on him, when-

“Oh, keep calling me that, you know how it gets to me,” Nick replied, trying to make his voice sound as turned on as possible.

“Oh gross, fucking wanker!” Louis yelled, making a face, “I’m hanging up on you! Text me Greg’s address!” He quickly hung up, hearing Nick start to yell something through his laughter before they hung up. He shook his head, glaring at his phone before shoving it back in his pocket. He walked into the gas station, deciding to use the restroom himself and maybe grab a Coke if he had enough quarters in his pocket. He counted them as he stood in line. One short. Of course. Louis sighed and shook his head, using the restroom quickly before heading back to the car. He climbed in and glanced out the window, trying not to let Nick’s words get to him.

“Hey,” Louis heard Liam say, so he turned to look at the other boy. “Cherry Coke okay?” Louis blinked in surprise, taking the bottle Liam offered him.

“You didn’t have to…” he started to say, trying not to get choked up.

“They were on sale,” Liam shrugged, but gave Louis a blinding smile that said that even if they hadn’t been, he still would have gotten Louis something. 

“Thanks,” Louis murmured, looking down at the bottle and swallowing thickly. It was just a soda, why was it getting to him so much? But he knew it wasn’t just the soda. It was lunch, and the ride, and dinner, and the soda. He didn’t deserve any of the kindness Liam was showing him, but he wasn’t going to question it. Just like he was going to do his best to try and push away how much Nick’s words got to him. “So!” He said, forcing a cheerful grin on his face as they started to pull away and find their way back to the highway. “What game shall we finish this drive off with?” Once they were back on the road, Louis grabbed the GPS and put Greg’s address in.

*

Liam couldn’t help but notice that Louis seemed a little distant and his smiles a little forced when they got back on the road. Something must have happened in those fifteen minutes they were apart, but what? He glanced at Louis out of the corner of his eye, watching him fiddle with the iPod to try and find something to listen to or some game he could turn it into. As curious as Liam was, he couldn’t very well just ask Louis. They weren’t friends. They’d only known each other a matter of hours. Sure, they’d managed to bond already in that time, but judging from how strongly Louis was trying to keep his emotions in, Liam knew that it wasn’t a conversation to be had between strangers. Instead of pressing, he let it slide. If Louis wanted to talk about it, he’d bring it up. 

Instead, Liam focused his attention on the road. One more hour to go, then they would be there. He wasn’t really sure what they were going to do once they got there, but he had a feeling that was all a part of Louis’ big plan.  
After searching through Liam’s vast library of songs, Louis finally gave in and settled on The Fray. Liam turned to Louis and raised an eyebrow, but the other boy shrugged with an unapologetic, “They’re my favorite.” 

“Good choice,” Liam smiled, turning his attention back to the road. 

“Alright, my creativity isn’t flowing that well anymore. So I’m going to say a word or a letter, and you say the first thing that comes to mind!” Liam couldn’t help but wonder if Louis had ever considered becoming a teacher. His ability to come up with little games and ways to get to know each other was pretty impressive. “X!” He started with, smirking over at Liam.

“Xylophone,” Liam answered, “Duh.” He laughed.

“Come on, be a little more creative!” Louis rolled his eyes, but still laughed.

“Oh yeah, what would you have said?” Liam retorted, giving Louis a challenging look.

Louis rolled his eyes again as if his response was the most obvious thing in the world. “Xena, Warrior Princess. Come on now, Leeyum, that wasn’t so hard was it?” Liam laughed and rolled his eyes, not even all that surprised at Louis’ answer.

They continued like that for another half an hour, bickering good naturedly and having a laugh at each other and their varied responses. Liam couldn’t believe how fast the time was going by. The first half of his drive in from Maine had dragged on, with no one to talk to. Sure, he’d had music to listen to, but it wasn’t quite the same. As soon as he’d gotten to Ohio, though, and Louis had joined him, all of a sudden the drive was fun. It was an unusual feeling, and nice.

“What exactly is the plan when we get there?” Liam asked as they pulled off the exit that would lead them to Ann Arbor.

“Well, I was hoping Greg would let us crash at his for the night at least, help us find a cheap motel nearby. Haven’t heard back from him yet, must be at work.”

“You’re… taking us somewhere and you don’t know if we’ll even be able to stay there?” Liam asked slowly, trying not to twitch. He hated not having everything planned out, not knowing where they would be staying the night. 

“Yep,” Louis grinned over at him, and he must have seen just how much Liam was annoyed by this because Louis laughed louder. “Oh come on, live a little. It’s a damn college town, if Greg doesn’t have room we’ll find someone else to stay with or one of the many motels or hotels in the area.” He leaned in and poked Liam in the side, causing Liam to squirm a little.

“Fine,” Liam sighed, shaking his head. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Liam glanced at Louis out of the corner of his eye. “How do you know this Greg guy?” 

“He’s a mate of my mate Nick’s,” Louis said, his voice a little strained.

“Nick is?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow just a bit. He noticed Louis squirm a bit, and thought back to how Louis had conveniently been able to change the subject when they had been talking about relationships earlier. He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Louis picked up the bottle of Coke, shifting it from one hand to the other multiple times before finally taking the cap off. “Did he break your heart?” Okay, that was blunt. Maybe too blunt coming from a stranger. But it was the only thing that he could think of that would have Louis reacting this way.

*

At Liam’s question, Louis spit out the Cherry Coke he was drinking. He turned beet red, quickly floundering to find a napkin to wipe the sticky mess from the windshield. Of all the questions Liam could have possibly asked… he certainly hadn’t expected that from him. “No, God no,” Louis stuttered, shoving the napkins in the little plastic bag they’d been using to collect garbage along the way. “He and I just….” Louis trailed off, biting at his lower lip. There was no getting out of trying to describe his relationship with Nick now. Not with Liam looking all concerned, like he had when Louis’ car broke down. People rarely gave much of a shit about Louis. What was it that made this stranger so genuinely worried? Louis just wanted to reassure him. “I stayed with Nick for a while, while I was living in New York City. We had a bit of an… arrangement.” Louis shrugged.

Instead of heading straight to Greg’s apartment, like was programmed into the GPS, Liam pulled into the Meijer they passed. He drove towards the gas pumps, but pulled into a parking spot first. Once they were parked, he turned around to look at Louis, his eyes wide and trying to understand. Louis could practically see all the gears turning in the boy’s mind, and the way his eyes widened that little bit more when he realized what Louis meant. “He let you stay there if you slept with him?” Liam asked, voice hushed in surprise. Louis could not tell if Liam was judging him or judging Nick, or neither. It put him a little on edge.

“Sort of?” Louis shrugged. “I don’t know. We never… talked about it in detail. I did shit around his apartment, sometimes helped him out with bitchwork at the radio station. Sometimes we slept together. It’s not like I prostituted myself to stay with him.” Except it was, wasn’t it? When it came right down to it, Liam had the right idea. Nick wasn’t the first person he’d done that with, either, but he was the longest it had gone on. “Don’t look at me like that,” Louis said, feeling the pity in Liam’s eyes. The pity was worse than the judgement. He could have taken it if Liam just called him a slut. But the pity? He absolutely despised it. “It was just a weird friendship. He’s annoying and pretentious and has dumb hair, but he’s loyal and he took me in when no one else would and let me stay far longer than anyone else would. Even without the sex. The sex was… just an added bonus.” 

“So why did you leave, if things were good with him?” Liam asked, his head tilting slightly to the side.

Louis shrugged, looking down at the bottle of Coke still in his hands. “Dunno. Started to settle in too much, needed to keep moving. Didn’t want to overstay my welcome.” Of course, Louis didn’t say all that he really felt. He didn’t say that he was uncomfortable with where things were heading with Nick, uncomfortable that feelings might have started to become involved. He didn’t say that Nick had quickly become the only true friend he still had in the States. Nick was the only friend he’d had since leaving his childhood best friend Stan behind in Doncaster, beside the ones who had taken him under their wing when he’d first come to Boston years ago, who he had lost touch with many years ago. He didn’t say that he had been terrified of any feelings getting involved, causing him to lose the only person who had actually, genuinely, given a shit about him in five years. He didn’t say that technically, he had overstayed his welcome of crashing on the couch when one week turned into one year. Nick consumed him like a fire, too bright and powerful and Louis was starting to get too close. He needed a break from the fire; he needed a lake, somewhere he could just float to get back in control of himself.

Liam remained silent, digesting Louis’ answer and looking like he was trying to figure the older lad out. After a few moments, Liam nodded, satisfied enough with what he’d heard to continue on their way. He reached over and patted Louis’ knee, touch lingering a moment too long before moving back to the steering wheel as they drove the last few minutes to Greg’s apartment.

*

It turned out that Greg’s apartment was actually a small house where he lived with a few of his co-workers from the university’s radio station. The instant that they met Greg, Liam relaxed. The man was instantly friendly, and it was easy to get along with him. He happened to have a spare room for a few nights; the kid that lived there was not back yet to start the semester. There was only the one bed, but Liam figured he and Louis would make do. He could sleep on the floor. Giving Louis the bed was the least that he could do for the struggling boy.

The two of them briefly toyed with the idea of going out and exploring that night, but it had been an eventful and emotional day. Instead, they sat with Greg and shared some cold, local beers and stories until they decided to call it. As soon as Louis curled into the bed, he was out. Liam fondly watched him sleep, not knowing what to think about this boy he’d just met. He shook his head, laying down on his pile of blankets and stretching out. It didn’t take him very long to fall asleep, either.

The next morning, Liam was up before Louis. He ran his hand through his hair, wandering down to the kitchen.

“Morning!” Greg smiled, offering a cup of coffee to Liam. “Help yourself for breakfast. Afraid I don’t have time to make you boys up a big meal, but there should be plenty. I’m running late to get to the station, but you know where the bathroom is, right?” Liam nodded, sipping at his coffee once he added plenty of sugar and creamer. “Good. Clean towels are in the cabinets. Tell Louis the same, but he’s not allowed to eat the last of my Cocoa Krispies. He’s got an obsession.” Liam raised his eyebrow at that, curious. He waved to Greg as he ran out, then sat down at the kitchen table for a moment. Louis hadn’t really made it seem like he knew Greg that well, and yet… Greg knew exactly what kind of cereal Louis was obsessed with? Interesting. Liam shook his head. No, no, why did it matter? It was just cereal. It’s not like it was some deep secret. And even if it was… why was Liam feeling all weird about it? It must be because the caffeine hadn’t started working yet. Yep, that had to be it. Liam quickly stood up, grabbing his mug from the table and heading to the bathroom. A shower would clear his head.  
By the time Liam was done in the shower (and if he took his sweet time relaxing under the hot water, letting it wash away the long drive, then it was his prerogative), Louis was making his way into the kitchen. “Morning,” Liam yawned as he opened the fridge, seeing exactly what he could make for breakfast.

“’ning,” Louis mumbled around a yawn of his own. “Please tell me Greg has some decent tea.” 

Liam shrugged, “Dunno, he said to help yourself. Just don’t eat finish his cereal.” 

“Wanker,” Louis groaned, opening the cupboards until he found both the cereal and a box of tea. “Fucking Americans,” he groaned again when he read the label of the box to see that it was just a generic, store-brand black tea.

“Does it really make that much of a difference?” Liam asked with a laugh as he popped a bagel into the toaster.

“WHAT?!” Louis asked, spinning around and staring at Liam like he had insulted his mother. Liam blinked, stepping back from the force of Louis’ shock. “It makes all the difference. I swear. There is nothing in the world like a good cuppa Yorkshire tea. Absolutely nothing. This,” He held up the box of off-brand tea, “is like drinking store brand soda. Does the trick enough, but doesn’t hold a candle to a glass of cold Coke.”

Liam thought for a moment, dwelling on Louis’ words. He did have a point. His mother always kept the good stuff for the guests, while he was stuck with whatever generic brands were on sale that week. There wasn’t a huge difference, but it was enough. “Alright, fair enough,” Liam shrugged with a laugh. He then turned his attention back to sorting out breakfast.

*

After finishing his cup of tea, Louis decided to jump in the shower while Liam offered to make up some pancakes. He let out a groan of happiness once he stood under the hot water, letting it run over him. It had been at least a week since he’d had a proper shower like this. It was the morning that he left Nick’s. Nick was still at work, so Louis decided that it would be the best time for him to sneak out so Nick wouldn’t try and convince him to stay. Nick had been trying for two weeks already, but Louis just wasn’t having it. He needed some space away from the older man, somewhere he could be on his own for a while. He knew that Nick didn’t really understand it, and Louis couldn’t blame him. He barely understood it himself. He had worked himself into a good place in Nick’s life. It was the longest he’d had a place to stay since coming to the States, and it was the first place where he had a friend who was able to actually help him live a “normal” life. It was the first place that really almost felt like a home, and that’s what scared Louis. He wasn’t ready for that yet. He wasn’t ready to get settled in even more, only to be thrown out with nothing. So while Nick was at work, blabbering on about the next hot young musician (someone named Harry, apparently), Louis packed up his things into Bertha and was on his way. In the week since, he had just been driving, stopping whenever he needed to rest his eyes for a bit. He didn’t have the money for an actual motel, so he usually just slept in Bertha in the parking lot of anywhere he wouldn’t get towed. There weren’t any proper showers this way, though he had certainly tried to beg his way into the showers that were meant to be for truckers only. It hadn’t worked, despite his best charm. He’d dealt with rinsing off in the sinks, trying at least to get rid of some of the grime of being on the road. 

By the time he finally stepped out of the bathroom, Liam had scrambled eggs and made a pile of pancakes. “Smells good,” Louis murmured, sliding into a chair at the table. Liam sat down with him, and together they ate in a comfortable silence, both slowly waking up fully. After they cleaned everything up, the decided to venture out into the town and walk around. 

When they stepped outside, Louis was struck by the movement around them. Greg lived in the heart of the city, right near the Michigan Theatre. Even though not all of the students had yet arrived on campus for the fall semester, there was still a buzz of activity around them. It was a different buzz than he’d felt in New York City. That had been frantic, alive, racing, and a strange combination of exhilarating and exhausting. Ann Arbor’s buzz was slightly more relaxed. People walked by with smiles on their face, coffee in hand, often a dog at the end of a leash, as they started their day off. A slow smile came across Louis’ face, and he looked over at Liam to see the smile there as well. “Come on,” he grinned, bumping his hip against Liam’s before they headed in the direction of campus to check it out. It was a pleasant late August day, early enough in the morning that the heavy humidity from the previous day wasn’t hanging like a shroud restricting their every movement. It made for a nice walk, until Liam stopped them a few blocks down from the Theatre.

“Let’s go in!” he exclaimed, pointing at the ornate doors of the University’s Museum of Archaeology. 

Louis lifted an eyebrow. “Really, Leeyum? A museum?”

“Come on,” Liam whined, taking Louis’ hand and dragging him toward the building. “It’s free. And,” he paused for dramatic effect, pointing at a banner, “they have dinosaurs!”

“Well in that case!” Louis laughed, following Liam into the hall. “I love dinosaurs.”

“I know, I remember,” Liam grinned, ducking over to the information table to find out if any activities or tours were going on that day. Louis did his best to ignore the way his heart fluttered at Liam’s words. He’d only mentioned his love for dinosaurs in passing during one of their driving games; he hadn’t expected Liam to remember something as trivial as that. He swallowed a bit, telling himself it was nothing, and quickly followed Liam up the stairs to the floor that held the exhibit they were looking for. Despite his initial protests about having to spend time in a museum, Louis found himself getting swept up in the exhibits around him and positively giddy at the dinosaurs that were surrounding him. His imagination ran wild in a way that it hadn’t since he was a wee lad, standing next to his mum and face to face with his first dinosaur fossils. The awe that he’d felt in that moment had led him to immerse himself in learning about the ancient animals, in a way he’d never cared about any of his schoolwork prior to or even after. Standing in that hall, Liam tugging him this way and that and reading the plaques out loud, brought all of those feelings back. 

*

They wound up spending a couple hours in the museum before they finally exited back into the sunshine. Liam had enjoyed it more than he’d enjoyed any museum visit in quite a while. He’d absolutely loved seeing the way that Louis’ face lit up over certain dinosaurs, and the way that he could spout off the most random facts about them. He hadn’t seen Louis that happy since he had meet him, and it surprised Liam just how much he enjoyed seeing the other man smile. They wandered down the streets for a bit longer, occasionally stopping into shops, until Louis spotted a bubble tea place. He pointed it to Liam, who just stared at it in confusion. They definitely didn’t have any bubble tea places in Greenville. Well, he was on an adventure, he might as well try new things, as weird as they initially seemed. He didn’t really know what he was ordering; he wound up just naming a few random fruits that seemed like they would be good together. When he was handed the drink, he stared at the pastel color and the weird gelatin things at the bottom of it.

“Come on,” Louis laughed, holding his own bubble tea, which had weird little pearl things in it. They went to sit down at one of the tables for a bit, enjoying the cool air. Liam hesitantly took a sip of his drink, thoughtfully chewing at the fruit jellies. “What do you think?” Louis asked, eyebrow raised.

“It’s good,” Liam said, surprised. He hadn’t known what to expect, but the drink was definitely better than any expectations he had. It was refreshing.

“I’m so proud,” Louis smiled, hand over his heart. Liam rolled his eyes and drank some more. They sat at their table for a few more minutes before deciding to move on. They kept their drinks in hand, and walked down the street to check out some more stores. Not much further down, they found a place called Bruegger’s Bagels. “Greg talks about this place all the time, we have to go in,” Louis said, his face lighting up. Liam raised an eyebrow. It was bagels. What was the big deal? 

Of course, that opinion changed once they actually sat down to finish their tea and eat their bagels. It wasn’t just any bagel, it was hands down the best bagel (and specialty cream cheese) that Liam had ever eaten.  
Once they were finished eating, they headed out and continued to wander around the streets, taking in the sights and sounds. Liam was amazed at how the city and the campus seemed to co-exist so seamlessly together. They spent a few more hours exploring, until they decided to head back to Greg’s to figure out what to do about dinner. Even though Louis hadn’t specifically said so, Liam knew that the older boy was hoping that there would be an option for food there so they didn’t have to pay for dinner. When they got back, Greg was sitting on the sofa, talking on the phone. Liam and Louis stood awkwardly nearby, not wanting to interrupt the conversation but a bit awkward about just walking around the place like it was their home. Luckily, Greg finished up his conversation a few moments later.

“Good news, guys,” he grinned, tossing his phone onto the coffee table and motioning for them to sit down. Louis sat next to him on the sofa, while Liam sat on the arm chair next to it. “That was Nick.” Both Louis and Liam raised their eyebrows in surprise. “Seems his new friend Harry has a house on the Sister Lakes, and is inviting some people to stay for the weekend while he and Nick are there. Us included.”

“Harry? Like the kid he’s been obsessing over for the past month?” Louis asked slowly. 

Greg nodded. “One and the same. Grimmy finally got him in for an interview the other day, and it seems they hit it off.”

“Finally,” Louis laughed, shaking his head. Liam just looked between the two of them, a little unsure what was going on but listening all the same.

“Seriously,” Greg laughed. “They said we could get down there any time tomorrow. I’ve gotta get to the station in the morning, sort everything out for the weekend while I’ll be gone. You guys are welcome to go whenever you want, don’t have to wait for me.”

“Sounds fun,” Liam finally spoke up, smiling. Really, being in a house full of strangers for an entire weekend sounded like anything but fun, but this was an adventure. He was going to try, and felt like he’d probably be okay as long as Louis and Greg were there. For as nervous as he was, he was also a bit excited. The idea of spending a weekend in a lake house would be a nice reminder of home before he had to start his new beginning in the city.

*

Louis and Liam decided to leave early in the morning to take their times heading out to the house. Not only would they be able to take their time on the drive down, but it would give them a bit more time at Harry’s. The plan, at least for the moment, was for Liam to just go to Chicago from the lake house, while Louis would drive back to Ann Arbor with Greg and decide what to do from there. Liam packed his things into his car, while Louis made sure he had all of his things out of the car. It was a bit weird for Louis, thinking about this adventure with Liam already being nearly over. They still had a few more days, of course, but still. The more time that he spent with Liam, the more that Louis hoped to stretch out their time together. Of course, realistically that would never be possible: Liam had a job and a flat to get to. He wasn’t going to stay in Ann Arbor, and he certainly wasn’t going to drift along with Louis to wherever his next stop might be. 

Louis chewed on his lip. He didn’t want to think that far ahead yet. Better going day to day, and planning to enjoy the weekend ahead of him. How could he not enjoy a weekend of partying? 

Once the car was settled, the two boys climbed in and began their drive up to the Lakes. It wouldn’t be a long drive, just a two hour straight shot to the other side of the state. Louis was still a bit excited, though, because the open road was how he and Liam bonded at first. They had barely known each other 24 hours, and yet Louis felt like he’d known Liam for ages. He looked over at the other man, who was concentrating on getting out of the city and onto the I-94. Louis blamed the lack of caffeine for his sudden wave of nostalgia and fondness. It couldn’t be anything else, right? Absolutely not. He clutched the travel mug Greg had let him use, and took a long drink of his tea. Once he set it back in the cup holder, Louis grabbed his phone and shot Nick a quick text to let him know that they were on their way. 

They settled in and idly chatted for about fifteen minutes before Louis started to get restless. “We need to play a game,” he declared, then frowned as he tried to think of something.

“Can’t you ever just sit still and have a normal conversation?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Louis rolled his eyes back, “Where is the fun in that?” Liam just shook his head and laughed in response. “Okay! Got it. I’m going to name an animal, and you tell me something about yourself somehow related to that animal. And then you give me an animal, and so on.” There was little in Louis’ life that he felt pride in. His ability to think on the spot was one of the few things.

“What if I don’t have a story about the animal?” 

“You’ll find something to relate it to. If not, then you owe me, or vice versa!” Louis grinned.

“Alright,” Liam said hesitantly, “But before I agree to that, what are we betting?”

Louis thought for a moment, trying to debate how far to take his little game. “If I can’t think of anything, I’ll give you a blowjob. If you don’t think of anything, you can… buy me lunch.” Sure, he would have preferred getting a blowjob from Liam, but he wasn’t really all that sure if Liam was even into guys at all. He watched the shock on Liam’s face as he considered the terms of the bet. He could tell that Liam was having a bit of an inner conflict.  
“You know, you don’t have to…” Liam started, glancing over at Louis with a look of concern on his face.

It only took a second for Louis to realize where Liam was trying to go with his statement. “Liam,” he stopped him, waving a hand. “Bit of fun, I enjoy it, you’d definitely enjoy it. You’re fit.” Louis left the _I’m not just doing it to repay you in sexual favors_ out, knowing that’s what Liam was afraid of. No, Louis just… rather enjoyed giving blowjobs, and he’d been unfortunately attracted to the other man from when they had met in Ohio. It was most likely that they would never see each other again after this weekend, so why shouldn’t he try to make the most out of it?

Liam glanced over at Louis again, considering, before he finally shrugged. “Alright, deal.” He gave Louis a bright smile.

“Wonderful!” Louis crowed, clapping his hands together in excitement. “I’ll start you off easy. Wolf.”

“Oh, you have no idea how easy,” Liam laughed, pausing as he concentrated on changing lanes to get around a semi that was taking its sweet time. “The reason that I’m moving to Chicago is because I was offered a sort of… apprentice position with the Chicago Wolves trainers.”

“Damn,” Louis pouted, then asked, “What sport is that?”

“Hockey,” Liam said proudly, “AHL. It’s the minor league right under the NHL.”

Louis let out an exasperated sound. “Of course it’s hockey. I should have guessed. But congrats, mate.”

“Thanks,” Liam laughed. “Not a hockey fan?” Louis shook his head. “Don’t worry, I can change your mind. Now let’s see… rabbit.” 

Louis blinked as he thought about what Liam could possibly mean about changing his mind… how long they would know each other. It would take more than a weekend at a lake to convince him that hockey was worth watching, after all. He quickly shrugged that off, determined not to look more into it than he should. “Rabbit, huh? Well, my sisters had a pet rabbit. Her name was Princess Fluffybutt the Ballerina Fairy.”

“That’s… quite a name,” Liam laughed, eyes wide. “What happened to Princess Fluffybutt the Ballerina Fairy?”

Louis just shrugged. “Dunno, she was alive when I moved away. Reckon she might be in bunny heaven by now, but I’m not sure how long they live. She was cute, though. Anyway… kangaroo.”

*

Liam just nodded a bit at Louis, but gave him a long, thoughtful look out of the corner of his eye. It was the first time since they’d met that Louis had brought his family up, outside of telling Liam why he had moved to the States. It was a bit weird, but Liam wasn’t going to press. He couldn’t imagine having to up and leave all of that behind; he couldn’t imagine going years without even hearing from his family. Instead, Liam launched into a story about the zoo/amusement park that he and his family had visited in York. He’d fallen in love with the kangaroos, and his mum had bought him a stuffed kangaroo which proceeded to hop around the car for the entire four hour drive home. His sister Ruth then hid the kangaroo for a week until she finally gave it back to her crying younger brother. Of course, Liam had to insist many times that this took place when he was five, not last week, but Louis was having none of that. Liam just rolled his eyes, laughing as they continued to banter back and forth and try and trip each other up by naming weirder and more obscure animals as they went along. Each time, though, they were able to come up with some kind of story about themselves. 

Finally, Liam got Louis. “Aardvark.”

Louis frowned, racking his brain trying to think of some story he could come up with. Surely he had to have something, right? But no, it seemed that he had nothing. “Fuck,” he sighed. “You win,” He pouted. “Guess I’ll have to give you a blowjob now.”

To Liam’s ears, it sounded like Louis was upset at the idea of losing, but definitely not upset at the fact that he would have to give Liam a blow job. And oh. That was an interesting development. Louis was hot, there was no denying it. He had thought it from the first moment that he’d laid eyes on him. But he hadn’t wanted to pursue Louis, knowing at least a little of what the other boy had been through. But here was Louis, with his hand squeezing Liam’s thigh, obviously wanting this. “Now?” Liam asked, voice catching a little as Louis’ hand moved up his thigh.

“Why not?” Louis smirked, eyes shining with mischief.

“Because I’m driving!” Liam exclaimed, looking over at Louis with wide eyes.

“Hmmm,” Louis hummed, glancing in the rear view mirror as he unzipped Liam’s fly and slid his hand inside, dragging a finger along his dick.

Liam gasped in surprise, his eyes widening even more. “Oh my god, Lou,” he chewed on his lip. He continued driving for a few more moments, until it became clear that Louis wasn’t going to let up. Instead, he wrapped his hand around Liam’s dick, stroking it a few times, slowly. “Fuck,” he groaned, hands tightening on the steering wheel as Louis swept his thumb over the tip of Liam’s rapidly hardening dick. 

“Feels like you’ve got a bit of an exhibitionist streak there, Leeyum,” Louis all but purred, stroking Liam more firmly. 

“You’re bad,” Liam whined, chewing on his lip and trying to decide what to do. He couldn’t very well just pull over on the side of the highway; troopers and cops passed by all the time. And, well, it felt too good to ask Louis to stop. Instead, he took the closest exit, ignoring the GPS screaming at them the directions to get back on their way.

“Oh my,” Louis teased. “What’s this?”

“You’re bad,” Liam grumbled, pulling into a gas station. Luckily, it was a large enough station that he could park in a corner away from everyone. As soon as he put the car into park and took off his seatbelt, Louis was leaning over. “Oh fuck,” Liam squeaked (very masculinely, of course!), “eager fucker. Hold on!” Louis whined, but waited as Liam pushed his seat back enough that Louis wouldn’t bang his head on the steering wheel. It was probably uncomfortable enough with the gear shift sticking up. 

Louis pulled Liam’s dick out of his pants, and leaned forward to lick at the head. At that, Liam let out a hoarse sound. It had been awhile since he’d done anything like this. Danielle was really the last, and that was months ago. It’d been even longer since he’d done anything with a boy… and that had never progressed further than a kiss. He reached up, tangling his hand loosely in Louis’ hair. The older boy continued to tease around the head, licking and sucking at just the tip. “Come on,” Liam whined. Normally, he’d be all for foreplay and teasing, but they were in public in a strange part of Michigan. He really didn’t want to get caught. Plus, he was really turned on and there was no way he’d last long.

Louis attempted to start to take more of Liam’s dick into his mouth, only to swear when the shift hit his chest. He adjusted a bit, shifting his seat forward to give him a better angle to work with. Once he was more comfortable, Louis took Liam back in his mouth. Not only was the angle better for Louis, but it felt even better for Liam. He groaned, fingers finding their way back into the unruly hair. He tangled his fingers in it, relishing the low moan that Louis gave when Liam tugged just a bit. “Lou,” he moaned, staring down at the boy who currently had most of his dick in his mouth. Liam wasn’t exactly huge, but he wasn’t exactly small either. He was big enough that Danielle had a bit of a tough time taking him in all the way, but Louis wasn’t struggling as much. It seemed his constantly running mouth was useful for ways other than talking. 

Liam’s fingers tightened in Louis’ hair when the other boy pulled off, only to sink back down. He found the perfect rhythm of fast and sloppy. Every moan that Louis made reverberated through Liam, causing a jolt up his spine. There was no way that he was going to last much longer. Louis pulled back just enough to focus on the tip of Liam’s dick, tongue swiping over the skin before focusing on the suction. “Fuck, Lou… I’m,” Liam started, chewing on his lip. Louis reached over to cup Liam’s balls, and that was enough to send Liam over the edge. He came down Louis’ throat, crying out the other boy’s name hoarsely and watching with wide eyes as Louis eagerly swallowed him down. 

Liam watched as Louis reached into his jeans. His eyes widened, still trying to catch his breath, as he suddenly found himself watching Louis get himself off as a result of blowing Liam. “You really do love giving blowjobs, don’t you,” he murmured, causing Louis to let out a hoarse moan. Moments later, Louis let out a sharp cry as he came into his hand, breathing heavily. “That was amazing,” Liam said, eyes still wide as Louis sat up, using one of the napkins still sitting in the car to clean himself up.

“Told you,” Louis grinned, lifting an eyebrow and smirking at Liam. “Totally worth losing.” They both laughed at that, taking a few more moments to compose themselves before heading back on the road.

*

The rest of the drive to Harry’s place was surprisingly not awkward. Because of Liam’s initial discomfort of Louis’ bet proposal, Louis had been afraid that it might be awkward after the blowjob. Instead, neither of them said much else on the topic and they continued on their way, passing the last few hours of the trip with more small talk and word games. Louis was thankful that it didn’t seem to ruin anything between them, because he’d grown very attached to Liam in the short time they’d known each other. The more time that they spent together, the more that they learned about each other, and the more that they learned how to tease each other. Louis spent a good fifteen minutes trying to get Liam to freak out about his future roommate, a lad named Zayn, by telling him some of his most awkward encounters from staying with people along the road. The ride went on like that, little conversation and teasing, and it was actually fun.

Finally, though, they arrived at the street that Harry’s house was located on. “What’s the address again?” Liam asked, squinting as he tried to see if any of the houses they passed had some indication of their addresses.

“Uh, 704,” Louis said after consulting the GPS. “So, few more houses down?”

“704! Good number, that,” Liam grinned. “One of my old bus numbers in school.”

Louis just stared at Liam for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,” he sighed. There was something about this boy that was just so endearing and charming and it made Louis feel so… well, _fond_. And that was a bit weird. He was determined to push that aside and not dwell on it, though, because who knew what would happen after their weekend at Harry’s. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Liam laughed, flipping Louis off before turning down the long drive that led to a house that looked fairly modest from the front. Liam pulled a backpack for each of them from his car, and Louis walked up to knock on the door.

“Lewis!” came a loud voice, catching Louis off guard. Even though Nick had been the one to invite them to Harry’s, Louis had somehow forgotten that would mean the older man would actually… be there. He blinked, then smiled slowly.

“Nikita,” he greeted, hesitating for a moment before launching himself at Nick. He wrapped his arms and legs around the older man in a big hug, delighting in the sounds of protest the larger man made. Truthfully, Louis hadn’t expected to already miss Nick, but it turned out that he did, and he was so glad to see him after the way that Louis just disappeared on him.

“Get down, you fucking koala bear, and introduce me to your boy scout.” Nick laughed, pinching at Louis’ side until the younger man squirmed and jumped down. 

“Nick, this is Liam. Liam, this is Nick!” Louis waved from one to the other, grinning. “Now come on, Grimmy. Let us in.” As they walked through the house, Louis realized that it was a lot bigger on the inside than it seemed from the outside. “It’s like the TARDIS,” he said in awe as they continued past bedroom after bedroom, living room and rec room and enclosed porches and then finally emerging out onto the deck, where a path led to a dock right on the lake. It was an incredible place, like nothing Louis had ever seen. The furnishing was outdated, bland, and yet for Louis it was still the most elegant home he’d ever seen. He turned over to Liam, who looked completely at home as he gazed out at the lakefront. 

“Come on, there’s not a lot of people here yet but they’re over by the grill making some lunch,” Nick said, leading them back toward the house where there was a small gathering of people laughing by the grill, beers or wine in hand. “Man of the house here, Harry Styles!” Louis turned around while Liam exchanged greetings with the boy standing there. Louis looked him over, watching the way that Nick’s arm snaked around the boy’s waist, large hand resting on his hip. The boy was tall and lanky, with a mop of curls on his head, and both nothing Louis expected and everything he would have expected. It was weird, seeing that Nick was already possibly moving on. But then, he and Nick weren’t ever anything, were they? Louis had run before they could have reached a point of becoming anything. And Harry, well, he couldn’t seem to hate Harry even if he wanted to. The boy was warm, friendly, and had opened his home up to them. They chatted for a bit before Harry introduced them to the group of people that were standing around.

Louis gratefully accepted a plate from a very tall young man, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. He and Liam sat down at a table with Harry and Nick, listening as Harry launched into a very roundabout telling of how he and Nick had met. Louis caught Liam’s eye, smirking a bit. Social as the kid was, he was definitely not a story teller. 

About halfway through the story, the tall man came over to sit down, the short blonde who had been manning the grill following close behind. “New blood!” the blonde grinned, reaching over to pat Liam and Louis on their heads. Louis’ eyes widened at a vaguely familiar accent. 

“Irish, mate?” Louis asked, unable to keep the excitement from his voice, which caused his Northern accent to be even stronger. After six years of hearing nothing but American accents, the boy’s thick Irish accent felt a bit like home.

“Yeah, mate! Me’n Bressie, couple’a good Irish lads,” the blonde exclaimed. “Good to hear some UK around these parts. ‘m Niall, and this is Niall,” he gestured to the tall lad across from him. 

“You have no idea how good it is to hear,” Louis laughed, shaking his head. “Louis, and this is Liam.”

“Nice to meet you!” Liam said happily, then looked from one Niall to the other. “If you’re both Niall… how do you tell who people are talking to?” 

“Just call him Bressie,” Niall laughed, and Louis couldn’t keep the grin from his face. There was just something about Niall that seemed to make everyone around him happy, especially when Niall was laughing. “Professor Bressie, even!”

“Professor, huh?” Liam asked, turning to Bressie as he finished up his lunch. 

“Yeah, I teach music and sound production courses over at the University of Michigan,” Bressie explained. “It’s a good gig. Chief here is one of my best.”

“We’ve been staying in Ann Arbor, with Nick’s mate Greg,” Louis explained. “Small world!”

Niall grinned. “Nice!! Love it. Niall-Squared in the A-Squared, that’s me and Bressie.” When he looked over at the older man, Louis could swear that he could see hearts in the big blue eyes, and it looked to him like the hearts were reciprocated in Bressie’s eyes. There was definitely something going on there between them.

“God, you guys are disgusting,” Nick whined, rolling his eyes as he looked from one Niall to the other, who just grinned at each other. 

“I think it’s sweet,” Harry sighed happily, and Louis did his best to ignore the way that Nick looked at Harry as if he was both the most adorable and most disgusting human in the world. It was so fond. Nick used to look at him like that. But Louis had done that to himself; it was only fair Nick actually have a chance with someone who wouldn’t go running at the slight chance feelings may or may not be involved. He was glad for the distraction when Bressie turned to ask him a question, and the conversation flowed easily. After about an hour, and another round of beer and wine, Greg showed up and joined in on the conversation. Louis found himself swept up in a joy, laughter, and openness that he hadn’t felt since he was a teenager, sitting at home and surrounded by his mum, sisters, and grandparents. Not only did he feel the joy, but he felt included, and he felt like he belonged. It was all a bit overwhelming, especially when he caught Nick’s eye. The other man gave him a knowing nod, nudging their feet together under the table to reassure Louis that he really did belong. Louis felt his heart swell, and he nudged Nick’s foot back before turning his attention fully back to the conversation.

*

The rest of the day went by much the same, with lots of introductions and casual conversation and drinking and eating. For as nervous as he had been, Liam was actually having a great time. Not only was he actually getting along with everyone, but people actually, genuinely, seemed to like him and want to talk with him. It was all a bit new and strange, but he enjoyed it. He enjoyed Nick’s acidic wit, and the way he and Louis played so easily off each other. He enjoyed Harry’s slow story-telling and big open smile. He enjoyed Greg’s easy laugh. He enjoyed Niall’s huge smile, and how he seemed to make everything even more fun. He enjoyed Bressie’s quiet, calming, presence. And most of all, Liam enjoyed the way that Louis seemed to let his guard down and let himself feel included in a way that Liam hadn’t really seen since they had met. It almost made Liam want to forget the life he had waiting for him, and just stay here. He knew that he couldn’t do that, though, couldn’t give up on his dream job. 

By the time night fell, Liam found himself sitting on the end of the dock with Louis. They hadn’t had much time alone, always surrounded by at least two or three other people. It had been a lot of fun, but it was also nice to have a bit of quiet under the stars. “You look happy,” Liam said softly, looking over at Louis.

Even though it was dark, Liam could still see the blush that came over Louis’ face. “Reckon I am,” he said softly, looking over at Liam with a grin. “Cheers to that.” He held up his beer bottle, clinking it against Liam’s.

“Cheers, indeed,” Liam agreed. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before it started to get a bit chilly. Liam noticed Louis shivering, so he scooted closer to the other boy and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Louis easily leaned into him, leaning his head on Liam’s shoulder. “Got a text from Zayn that we can move in Tuesday,” Liam murmured as he held Louis close.

“That’s good,” Louis whispered in reply, picking at the corner of the label on his bottle. 

“You could come with me, you know,” Liam offered before he really even realized what he was saying. “We could find you a place, too.” 

Louis turned his head up to look at Liam, gnawing at his lower lip as he considered what to say. “I like it here,” he finally said, his voice soft. Liam just nodded, feeling a little sad but understanding. Greg’s roommate was due back after the weekend, but Niall and Bressie had a spare room they offered up to Louis if he wanted to stay. And really, Liam couldn’t blame Louis for staying. He seemed to fit in with the group, and it seemed a good place for him to get back onto his feet once the reality caught up to him. Still, it would have been nice to bring Louis with him. “Hey, Leemur. No pouting, okay? Not yet.” Louis nudged him with his elbow, smiling up at him. “We’ve still got a couple more days before you have to leave me.”

“I know,” Liam smiled, squeezing Louis’ shoulders. “Just a bit weird, you know? Here I was planning to stay in a hotel for a few days while the apartment got sorted out, getting to know Zayn a bit and being homesick until I tried my hand at being an adult. Instead, you took me on this great adventure and got me to open up a little bit.”

Liam watched as Louis flushed a little, ducking his head and bumping against Liam affectionately. He was immediately reminded of Teemu, a stray cat who hung out at the bed and breakfast. He was proud and fast, much like his namesake. But when Teemu was especially happy, he would walk over to Liam and nudge up against him, a low purr rumbling out, before he sauntered off. Liam didn’t want Louis to saunter off yet, though, so he kept his arm around the smaller boy, holding him close.

“I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t stopped,” Louis said after a moment of comfortable silence. “I’m sure I would have figured something out, but you… you gave me this chance, not only helped me to have fun, but to reconnect with some old friends and make some new friends and… have a shot.” Liam smiled a bit. Louis wasn’t making complete sense, probably in part from not being good at expressing himself as well as the amount of beer they’d had throughout the day. He did have a general idea of what Louis meant, though. “This has been the best few days I’ve had in… a long time,” Louis admitted. Liam felt his heart swell a bit; he couldn’t help but wonder again what Louis had already been through in his life. Louis stayed silent for another few moments, before saying, “Harry told me there’s a couple of bikes in the garage. Fancy a ride around the lake in the morning?”

“Of course!” Liam’s eyes lit up at the prospect. He was going to make the absolute most out of this weekend and this beautiful boy next to him. He looked up at the sky, smiling when a shooting star streaked through the sky. Liam looked over at Louis, seeing that the other boy was staring back at him. He blushed, especially when he noticed Louis leaning in. Before Liam really even realized what was happening, he felt Louis’ lips against his. He made a small sound of surprise, but after the initial shock wore off he was able to kiss Louis back. His lips were soft, and tasted of beer and barbecue. He smiled against Louis’ lips when he heard a soft sigh that he knew came from Louis. They continued to kiss for a few more moments, the kiss slowly deepening as it went on. When Liam felt Louis’ lips part, it was only natural for him to slip his tongue inside. He let out a soft sigh of his own, followed by a bit of a whine when Louis pulled away a few moments later. He caught Louis’ eyes, reading the emotions there. Even though Louis hadn’t spoken, Liam knew that the kiss was the boy’s way of saying what he couldn’t. The blowjob from earlier hadn’t just been about losing a bet. Liam sat up and hugged Louis to his side. He pressed a light kiss to Louis’ temple before staring back up at the stars, hoping that this weekend wouldn’t be the last he saw of Louis.

**Author's Note:**

> Technically, Ashtabula doesn't have a service plaza, just some gas stations off the highway, but you know. Worked better this way. I fell ridiculously in love with this universe while I was writing it, so I'll probably write some sequels or timestamps. Feel free to comment if there's anything you'd like to read, and I may write it!


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